Balance Between Senescence and Apoptosis Is Regulated by Telomere Damage–Induced Association Between P16 and Caspase-3
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JBC Papers in Press. Published on May 10, 2018 as Manuscript RA118.003506 The latest version is at http://www.jbc.org/cgi/doi/10.1074/jbc.RA118.003506 Balance between senescence and apoptosis is regulated by telomere damage–induced association between p16 and caspase-3 Shanmugam Panneer Selvam1,2, Braden M. Roth1,2, Rose Nganga1,2, Jisun Kim1,2, Marion A. Cooley3,#, Kristi Helke4, Charles D. Smith5, and Besim Ogretmen1,2* 1Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, 2Hollings Cancer Center, 3Department of Regenerative Medicine, 4Department of Comparative Medicine, Medical University of South Carolina, 86 Jonathan Lucas Street, Charleston, SC 29425; 5Department of Pharmacology, Pennsylvania State University, 500 University Drive, Hershey, PA 17033. #Current Address: Department of Oral Biology, Augusta University, Augusta, GA 30912. *Address correspondence to: [email protected] Running title: p16-caspase-3 complex and senescence Key words: apoptosis; senescence; sphingolipid; sphingosine 1-phosphate; telomere damage Downloaded from Abstract damage–induced apoptosis, indicating that an Telomerase activation protects cells from telomere association between p16 and caspase-3 damage by delaying senescence and inducing cell proteinsforces senescence induction by inhibiting immortalization, whereas telomerase inhibition caspase- 3 activation and apoptosis. These results http://www.jbc.org/ mediates rapid senescence or apoptosis. However, suggest that p16 plays a direct role in telomere the cellular mechanisms that determine telomere damage–dependent senescence by limiting damage–dependent senescence versus apoptosis apoptosis via binding to caspase-3, revealing a induction are largely unknown. Here, we direct link between telomere damage–dependent demonstrate that telomerase instability mediated senescence and apoptosis with regards to aging by guest on May 31, 2018 by silencing of sphingosine kinase 2 (SPHK2) and and cancer. sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P), which binds and stabilizes telomerase, induces telomere damage– Introduction dependent caspase-3 activation and apoptosis, but Telomerase is composed of a catalytic reverse not senescence, in p16-deficient lung cancer cells transcriptase (TERT) and telomeric template RNA or tumors. These outcomes were prevented by (TR), which plays a key role in the elongation and knockdown of a tumor-suppressor protein, maintenance of telomeres at chromosome ends (1- transcription factor 21 (TCF21), or by ectopic 4). Shelterin complex proteins associate with expression of WT human telomerase reverse telomere repeats for protection from inducing transcriptase (hTERT), but not mutant hTERT DNA damage response to overcome replicative with altered S1P binding. Interestingly, SphK2- end protection problem (5-8). Telomerase is highy deficient mice exhibited accelerated aging and expressed in stem cells, while it is inactivated due telomerase instability that increased telomere to epigenetic silencing of TERT upon damage and senescence via p16 activation differentiation in most somatic cell types (9,10). especially in testes tissues, but not in apoptosis. However, telomerase is reactivated in majority of Moreover, p16 silencing in SphK2-/- mouse cancer cells, inducing cell immortalization and embryonic fibroblasts activated caspase-3 and tumorigenesis (11-14). Recent studies revealed a apoptosis without inducing senescence. Further, clinical relevance of TERT activation in cancer, as ectopic WT p16 expression in p16-deficient A549 mutations within the core promoter region of the lung cancer cells prevented TCF21 and caspase-3 TERT gene provide binding sites for E-twenty-six activation, and resulted in senescence in response (ETS) transcription factors, leading to cancer- to SphK2/S1P inhibition and telomere damage. specific telomerase reactivation (15-17). Mechanistically, a p16 mutant with impaired Activation of telomerase protects cells caspase-3 association did not prevent telomere from telomere damage, delaying senescence and aging process (18,19), whereas targeting (Fig. 1A-B). Similarly, inhibition of SPHK2 using telomerase induces tumor suppressor responses ABC294640 (100 mg/kg, 7 days/week treatment such as senescence or apoptosis (20,21). However, for 21 days) suppressed A549-xenograft-tumor signaling mechanisms that distinctly induce growth compared to vehicle-treated controls (Fig. senescence versus apoptosis in non-cancerous 1A). Interestingly, ABC294640 treatment had no versus cancerous cells in response to telomerase additional effect on A549-xenograft-tumor growth inactivation and telomere damage induction are suppression in response to shRNA-mediated largely unknown. SPHK2 knockdown, supporting its role in SPHK2 Sphingosine 1-phosphate (S1P) is a inhibition for tumor suppression (Fig. 1A). bioactive sphingolipid, generated by sphingosine Suppression of A549-xenograft-tumor growth in kinase 1 or 2 (SPHK1 or SPHK2), that exerts pro- response to SPHK2 knockdown or inhibition was oncogenic signaling via engaging with its G- consistent with decreased hTERT protein protein coupled receptors (S1PR1-5) in an abundance and apoptosis measured by IHC using autocrine or paracrine manner, and/or via directly anti-hTERT antibody and TUNEL assay, binding to regulate its intracellular target proteins respectively, compared to control tumor tissues without receptor signaling (22-25). Intracellular (Fig. 1C-D). In addition, SPHK2 inhibition or targets of SPHK2-generated nuclear S1P include knockdown resulted in increased telomere damage HDAC1/2 (26) and TERT (27). Our previous in A549-xenograft-tumors compared to controls, Downloaded from study described a role for SPHK2-generated S1P measured ex vivo by immunofluorescence using in the stabilization of telomerase via directly anti-TRF2 and anti-g-H2AX antibodies in TIF binding to hTERT involving its D684 residue (27). (telomere damage-induced foci) assay (31) (Fig. These studies also suggested that S1P binding 1E). Moreover, there was no significant difference http://www.jbc.org/ mimicked the phosphorylation of hTERT at Ser921, in the staining of senescence associated-beta which protected hTERT from ubiquitination and galactosidase in shSPHK2 tumors compared to proteasomal degradation (27). However, roles and shScr controls (Fig. 1F). Similar data were also mechanisms by which targeting SPHK2/S1P and obtained when A549-luciferase derived tumors TERT induces senescence versus apoptosis with were grown orthotopically in the lungs of SCID by guest on May 31, 2018 respect to telomere damage signaling and tumor mice after tail vein injection, and inhibition of suppression are largely unknown. Thus, in this SPHK2 using ABC294640 decreased lung tumor study, we have outlined experiments to uncover growth (~95%) and hTERT abundance compared signaling mechanisms that determine responses for to vehicle-treated controls (Supplemental Fig. the induction of senescence versus apoptosis via S1B-D). telomere damage-mediated cellular stress. To assess the clinical relevance of hTERT regulation by SPHK2/S1P signaling, we then Results determined SPHK2 abundance with regard to Inhibition of SPHK2/S1P attenuates hTERT hTERT expression by IHC using commercially abundance and tumor growth available tumor microarrays (TMAs) containing To determine the roles of SPHK2/S1P in lung tumor tissues obtained from patients with the regulation of tumor suppression via controlling NSCLC (n=48) and their adjacent pathologically telomerase and telomere damage, we measured the non-cancerous lung tissues (n=48). The data effects of silencing and/or pharmacologic showed that SPHK2 is significantly over- inhibition of SPHK2/S1P signaling using shRNA- expressed (~2.5-fold) in the majority of NSCLC dependent knockdown or small molecule inhibitor tumors compared to their controls (46/48 tumors, of SPHK2, ABC294640 (28-30) (Supplemental p<0.05) (Supplemental Fig. S2A-B). The data also Fig. S1A) on the growth of A549 xenograft- showed that hTERT was up-regulated (~2.8-fold) derived tumors in SCID mice. ShRNA-mediated in the majority of NSCLC tumors (47/48, p<0.05) knockdown of SPHK2 (~75% mRNA reduction (Supplemental Fig. S2B). Importantly, the compared to Scr-shRNA-expressing tumors, Spearman correlation analysis showed that there is measured by qPCR) almost completely prevented a significant (n=48, p<0.001) association between A549-xenograft-tumor growth compared to Scr- SPHK2 and hTERT expression in these tissues shRNA/A549-xenograft controls after 21 days (Supplemental Fig. S2C). Similar correlation 2 between SPHK2 and hTERT was detected in the activation in response to ABC294640, catalytically majority of tumor tissues obtained from patients inactive mutant SPHK2G212E expression (34) was with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) (Supplemental not protective compared to controls (Fig. 2D-E). Fig. S2D). Thus, these data suggest that targeting Exogenous addition of S1P (5µM, 1h) also clinically relevant and upregulated SPHK2/S1P in prevented ABC294640-mediated caspase 3 tumors inhibits hTERT abundance, which is activation in A549 cells compared to vehicle- associated with increased telomere damage and treated controls (Fig. 2F). apoptosis, leading to tumor growth suppression in Increased telomere damage in response to vivo. genetic loss of SphK2 was also detected in SphK2- /- compared to WT-MEFs (Fig. 3A). Moreover, Targeting SPHK2/S1P signaling mediates shRNA-mediated SPHK2 knockdown resulted in telomere damage and subsequent caspase 3 telomere damage in A549 cells compared to Scr- activation